You had to feel sorry for Toni Kukoc. Croatia's -- and Europe's -- best basketball player is accustomed to being a king on the court. But Monday night at the Olympics, he became an innocent victim, a deuce against a stacked deck, a pawn in Michael Jordan's and Scottie Pippen's inglorious quest to make Bulls general manager Jerry Krause -- whom they dislike -- look bad. To make Krause look bad, these prize Bulls made it their mission to make Kukoc,...

The fad in basketball is this thing called efficiency. The way the NBA (and most others) track this is with the formula: (points+rebounds+assists+steals+blocks) minus ((FGA-FGM) plus (FTA-FTM) plus turnovers) divided by games. The formula distinguishes good players from bad players most of the time but its chief attribute is simplicity. The method argues that all things in basketball are of equal value. That a steal is the same as a rebound. A point is the same as a turnover.

The CambyLand Foundation is sponsoring a fund-raiser Friday from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. at The Bar With No Name, 115 Asylum St. Tickets cost $35 and include an open bar from 9 to 11 p.m. and free hors d'ouevres. Celebrities Ray Allen, Scottie Pippen and Gary Payton are not scheduled to attend. A story on page B5 of the Metro Hartford section Wednesday gave incorrectly information.

Barkley, the perfect host When the Sonics visited Houston recently, Rockets forward Charles Barkley and Sonics coachGeorge Karl did not renew their friendship, but it wasn't for Barkley's lack of trying. "I invited him over for dinner," Barkley said, "but he said he had to watch films." Said Karl: "I watched [the movie `Tin Cup']." During their telephone conversation, Karl asked Barkley if it was about time for him to hit another referee. "I'm overdue," Barkley said. Fans will take this Bull Sportsmart, with stores in the U.S. and Canada, reported its top-selling jerseys in 1996: 1. Michael Jordan, red Bulls.

Like all the other jealous Jordanaires, Scottie Pippen thought it was cold there in Michael Jordan's shadow. And when Jordan retired, he didn't call up Pippen and sing, "You were the wind beneath my wings." False modesty was never Air Jordan's thing. But while it could be cold in Jordan's shadow, it was also dark. And in darkness, there is a degree of protection, comfort. Nobody's watching every breath you take, every move you make. Now the playoffs and the Bulls' annual death struggle with the Knicks finds Air Jordan fulfilling new fantasies on a distant minor league ballfield.

If you haven't discovered how thin the Celtics' margin for error really is in this post-Antoine Walker era, Wednesday night should serve as evidence. Playing their third game in four nights, but coming off two victories in a row, the Celtics lost 89-82 to the Chicago Bulls on a night when shots were short, rebounds were lost and tired legs meant far too many reach-in fouls. It was a midseason NBA slog in just the second week. "In the NBA I know if you stand around on offense you lose," Celtics coach Jim O'Brien said.

Halfway through the season, the elite have broken from the pack. The only teams deserving an A at the 40-game mark are the 76ers, Kings, and Trail Blazers. You can assign above-average marks to the Knicks, Bucks and Mavericks, with a nod in the direction of Pat Riley's surprising Heat. But far too many teams -- even those capable of winning the title -- have hovered in the B-minus, C-plus range. That includes the defending champion Lakers and the inconsistent Spurs. The Sixers (33-10)

When the International Amateur Basketball Federation voted to allow NBA players in the Olympics in 1989, there was little doubt the United States would dominate. And while that is exactly how things have played out, the U.S. was nearly knocked off before reaching the gold medal game today against France. 1992: Barcelona Record: 8-0 100-point games: 8 Scoring average: 117 points Average margin of victory: 44 points Closest game: 33 points (twice vs. Croatia, in pool play and gold medal game)

As 76ers coach Larry Brown conducted his postgame press conference Monday night, his son L.J., 5, climbed onto his lap and began playing with the microphone. "And you wonder why I have a tough time handling Allen [Iverson]," Brown said, jokingly. For Brown, a temper tantrum from L.J. may be preferable to Iverson on a good day. Brown has the fortune of coaching one of the most gifted players in the NBA. He also has the misfortune of babysitting one of the most temperamental personalities in professional sports.

Charles Barkley had plenty of idle time to reconsider. There was a sleepless night in a hotel room, a restless flight from Philadelphia, an arduous bus trip from Logan Airport to a downtown hotel. But almost 24 hours after tearing up his left knee, Barkley stood by the decision he made before the season: This is his final season. Even though his season ended with a knee injury Wednesday night, Barkley won't change his plans. "I stand by what I said," Barkley said at a press conference Thursday at the Ritz-Carlton.

No matter what happens the rest of the NFL season, Bill Parcells' place among the top coaches of his era is secure. After all, the Jets' coach has 141 career victories. He's taken the Giants and the Patriots to the Super Bowl. He won the Super Bowl as Giants coach in 1987 and 1991. Still, last Sunday's season-ending injury for Vinny Testaverde, his starting quarterback, gives the Tuna a chance to add more luster to his coaching legend. For the most part, the sports writers and TV announcers operating on the theory the sooner you make a definitive statement, the sooner it will be forgotten if you're wrong, have announced the 0-1 Jets can't be a serious contender with Rick Mirer at quarterback.

He has been the runaway choice for best supporting actor as the Bulls won back-to-back championships, and he was one of Chuck Daly's more potent Dream Teamers last summer in Barcelona, Spain. But when it gets down to the real nitty-gritty, to those last, unrelenting rounds of the NBA playoffs, the whispers questioning Scottie Pippen's toughness hang in the air like spring pollen. Could he be allergic? There was that Game 7 a few years ago against the defending champion Pistons, when Pippen came up with a brief and subpar performance, and afterward, the excuse of a migraine, as another promising but ultimately unremarkaBull season ended.

On the streets of Utah's biggest city, there are wide boulevards, few cars and beautiful mountain vistas. But inside the Delta Center, the ear-splitting, manufactured noise of fireworks and a motorcycle-riding mascot is unsettling and unnecessary in the minds of many. Including Utah Jazz forward Karl Malone. "The only thing I know is they made my kids cry," Malone said of the fireworks. "The 10, 15 or 20 thousand dollars -- whatever they spend -- they could use it on something different."

Sadly -- for everyone but their frustrated opponents, that is -- the NBA's greatest touring company of the decade, the Bulls, officially disbanded over the winter, as soon as the lockout ended. As expected, Michael Jordan announced his retirement, and his supporting cast, which had helped him win three consecutive championships, scattered around the league, venturing into a brave new world where they were guaranteed to be paid a lot more and win a lot less. And while more money may ease a pro athlete's pain, it hardly erases it. Especially when that athlete has fresh memories of the indescribable feeling that comes from winning a championship, then another, then another.

Until the Jazz beat them by one point in Salt Lake City on Thursday, the Rockets had won nine in a row and Scottie Pippen was sounding happier than he has since the season started. This being the NBA, that could all change in a week. Before the Rockets' streak began, Pippen complainedabout not understanding his role in the offense. What he meant was, why did they bring him in if all he's supposed to do is stayout of the way ofHakeem Olajuwon and Charles Barkley? The Suns courted him royally, but Pippen came to Houston mainly because he had always wanted to play with a great center.